


2004 Was Not a Good Year

by YouCanJive



Series: Time is the Longest Distance (Between Two Places) [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Mental Health Issues, Sick Character, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, tony misses his mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 13:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19401391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouCanJive/pseuds/YouCanJive
Summary: Tony hasn't been having the greatest year. He hasn't been having the greatest decade, to be honest. And then…“You can hide under my bed.”He met his soulmate.





	2004 Was Not a Good Year

2004 was not a good year for Tony Stark.

The entire decade leading up to 2004 hadn’t been great for Tony, really, despite the millions he was making, the parties he was throwing, and the headlines he was prompting. Don’t get him wrong, he was out from beneath his father’s shadow and in charge of Stark Industries, creating and marketing exactly what he wanted, to a degree he could never have even imagined before. And knowing he could never prove his father wrong now made him feel liberated to be as outrageous and irresponsible as only the afore-mentioned millions and headlines could make him.

But he missed his mom. And when the party was over and the girls had left his bed, knowing he could not prove his father wrong about him did not feel like such a liberation, but rather like a life sentence.

Tony had spent the majority of the years since his parents’ death drunk or hungover.

The morning of August 4, 2004 was an exception, brought on by one Virginia Potts having poured all Tony’s whiskey down the hotel room sink the day before and not having let him leave his room after that because “you can’t go meet with sick children smelling of a distillery, Tony. I swear, Tony, I will call somebody from the Foundation to lead the ceremony.”

It was less the children and more the reminder that this was for the Maria Stark Foundation that made Tony comply. Normally, the reminder of his mother and of her absence would have led him to drink more. But Pepper’s words struck a nerve. The very thought that he would not be fit to represent Maria Stark and the foundation he had set up in her honor… But it was true, wasn’t it? His mother would be ashamed of him. He spent so much time purposefully trampling the legacy and reputation Howard Stark had tried to leave behind in the shape of his son, he had rather forgotten he was his mother’s legacy, too.

Tomorrow, he would drink until he forgot that again. For the next twelve hours, though, Tony would stop being Howard’s son, and be Maria’s instead.

But of course, Pepper couldn’t see the effort Tony was trying to make. His hands were shaking by the morning, and he just wanted a drink – just one, to take the edge off – but he would not let himself. He tried to tweak some of the remarks he was to make, but then he dropped the tablet prototype he’d been processing the document in and the stupid thing erased the entire thing. He missed breakfast and was late to the hospital. Pepper was already there, her lips a thin white line as she kept her head down, visibly trying not to scream at her boss.

Her attempt lasted until they were approaching the pediatric lounge where the reception was going to be held and he jokingly asked if she’d printed out the remarks, because he’d accidentally deleted the file.

“I thought if there was one thing you would take seriously, Mr. Stark, it would be this. But I see I was mistaken. So could you give me five minutes so I can try to pull together some remarks to help honor your mother’s legacy? Don’t worry, I won’t make you read them. I’ll find somebody who can actually make it look like they care.”

When she got angry like this at him, Pepper didn’t shout. Her voice became thin and sharp and it almost reminded Tony of Howard. He hated it. He’d prefer it if she’d lose the professional demeanor and just shouted and cursed at him, like Rhodey did. He’d heard her do it on the phone with a friend before, so he knew she could do it. But the coldness and professional demeanor behind the cutting words always struck a chord.

“Pepper, I know you don’t believe me, but I’m actually trying here. It was an accident. This is my _mother’s foundation_ , for fuck’s sake. I care, alright?” he fumed, even as he tried to keep his volume and tone under control.

“Look, Tony, we’re too old for games. You’re the CEO of Stark Industries. You expect me to believe you accidentally deleted a file and don’t know how to get it back? Next time, say the dog ate your homework. Or better yet: just tell me you don’t want to speak at an event, and I’ll take it off your plate. But sabotaging it at the last minute is disrespectful to me, to the Foundation, to the sick children in this hospital, to…”

But Tony didn’t hear any more of the list of who exactly he was disrespecting. He turned at the closest corner and walked briskly away from Pepper. He thought he heard the click-clack of her high heels coming after him and turned into the nearest room, and closed the door firmly behind himself.

He would have never been able to show Howard he was wrong about him. He can’t even show Pepper. 

And then…

“ _You can hide under my bed._ ”

He met his soulmate.

His fifteen-year old, dying soulmate, who tried to connect with him and put him at ease, even though he was the adult, and she was clearly not having the greatest year either, and she had just been saddled with an alcoholic twice as old as her who couldn’t even manage to pull himself together to honor his mother’s memory as her soulmate. It barely even took five minutes for her to start pulling away from him. It was better that way.

2004 was not a good year.


End file.
